France’s powerful European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton abruptly resigned on Monday with a parting shot at the bloc’s chief as she prepared to present her new team.

French President Emmanuel Macron proposed Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné as Breton’s replacement.

Announcing his walkout the day before Ursula von der Leyen was expected to unveil her incoming team, the bloc’s Internal Market Commissioner claimed the EU chief had sought at the last minute to push him out.

President Emmanuel Macron had put Breton’s name forward for France’s spot on the EU executive team, and his reappointment to a sizeable role – reflecting the country’s weight within the 27-nation bloc – had been taken as a given.

“In the very final stretch of negotiations on the composition of the future College, you asked France to withdraw my name,” Breton wrote in a scorching letter to von der Leyen, posted on X.

“In light of these latest developments – further testimony to questionable governance – I have to conclude that I can no longer exercise my duties in the College,” he wrote.

“I am therefore resigning from my position as European Commissioner, effective immediately.”

A European Commission spokeswoman told reporters that von der Leyen had accepted Breton’s resignation and “thanks him for his work as commissioner throughout the mandate”.

In Paris, Macron’s office said the president was instead proposing Sejourne for an EU portfolio focused on “industrial and technological sovereignty and European competitiveness”, highlighting his past experience leading the centrist Renew group in the European Parliament.

It remained unclear, however, whether von der Leyen would be able to present her top team as planned today – a timeline already pushed back once amid a row over gender parity.

Breton, whose strained relationship with his EU boss was no secret during her first five years in office, claimed in his letter that von der Leyen’s bid to block his candidacy was made “for personal reasons that in no instance you have discussed directly with me”.

He said she had “offered, as a political trade-off, an allegedly more influential portfolio for France”.

One of the most influential figures in Brussels, Breton has been the bloc’s internal market commissioner since 2019 and has taken a hard line against abuses by the world’s biggest digital platforms – even sparring publicly with Elon Musk.

His portfolio also included defence and space, overseeing a defence industry push and marshalling the production of Covid jabs.

The former CEO of France Telecom had been tipped to receive a promotion as a commission vice president stewarding industrial growth.

The 69-year-old was seen by Paris as a key counterweight to Berlin’s influence at the heart of the EU.

The centrist Breton has been outspoken in challenging von der Leyen – and caused a stir earlier this year by publicly questioning the depth of support for her re-election within her centre-right European People’s Party. Breton was also one of four commissioners who questioned her “transparency and impartiality” over the appointment of a political ally to a highly-paid post as small and medium-sized enterprises envoy.

How the 27-member commission’s portfolios are divided up will send a strong signal regarding the bloc’s political direction and the relative influence of each member state – after EU parliament elections in June marked by far right gains.

Von der Leyen has been leaning on member countries to put forward more women for the bloc’s executive arm, after most – including France – ignored her request to offer a choice of male or female candidates.

The furore in Brussels came as France awaits the formation of a new government by conservative Prime Minister Michel Barnier, named by Macron as a compromise pick after June elections produced a hung parliament.

Central Europe braces for more flooding as death toll rises

Residents of several areas of Poland and the Czech Republic rushed to evacuate on Monday, as others in central Europe began cleaning up after the worst flooding in over two decades left a trail of destruction and a rising number of deaths.

In a detailed report on Monday, Reuters news agency reported border areas between the Czech Republic and Poland were hit hard over the weekend as heavy rain that has fallen since last week and surging water levels collapsed some bridges, forced evacuations and damaged cars and houses.

At least 14 people have died in flooding from Austria to Romania in the past few days.

On Monday, the Topola reservoir in southern Poland overflowed and water was gushing towards the village of Kozielno. Local authorities said residents of several nearby towns and villages would be evacuated.

In the northeastern Czech city of Ostrava, a broken barrier on the Odra river at its confluence with the also-flooded Opava river, caused unexpected flooding of the city’s industrial area, including the BorsodChem chemical plant, coking plant OKK Koksovny and others, as well as more residential areas from where hundreds of people were being evacuated.

In the Czech town of Litovel, 70 per cent of which was submerged by water up to a metre deep on Monday, residents described their fear as waters rose quickly over the weekend.

Poland’s government announced a state of natural disaster in affected areas and said that it had set aside 1 billion zlotys (€234 million) to help victims.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he was in touch with the leaders of other affected countries and that they would ask the European Union for financial aid.

Michal Piszko, mayor of the Polish town of Klodzko along the Czech border, said waters had receded there but help was needed.

“We need bottled water and dry provisions… half of the city has no electricity,” he told Polish radio.

Television footage showed streets in Klodzko strewn with debris and mud. In the Polish town of Nysa a hospital was evacuated, with patients including pregnant women and elderly people taken away in rafts.

In Jesenik, a Czech town across the border that was inundated on Sunday, a clean-up was starting after waters receded to show damaged cars and debris on the streets.

“There were two metres of water that ran through the street… There are many, many destroyed cars,” said a resident. “Telephones are not working, there is no water, no electricity.”

In eastern Romania, where villages and towns were submerged over the weekend, Emil Dragomir, mayor of Slobozia Conachi, told Romanian television the flooding had a devastating impact.

“If you were here you would cry instantly because people are desperate… there were people who were left with just the clothes they had on,” he said.

While water was receding in some areas, others were shoring up defences for floods heading their way.

In Wroclaw, in the southwestern region of Silesia, the mayor Jacek Sutryk said the city of some 600,000 people was preparing for water levels peaking on Wednesday.

In Romania, the flooding killed six people over the weekend. An Austrian firefighter died on Sunday. In the state of Lower Austria that surrounds Vienna, two men aged 70 and 80 were found drowned in their homes, a police spokesperson said on Monday.

Polish police said four people died as a result of floods in Poland, while state news agency PAP earlier reported five deaths, and in the Czech Republic one person died, a police official said.

Slovakia’s capital Bratislava and the Hungarian capital Budapest were both preparing for possible flooding as the River Danube rose.

Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter said efforts were focused on keeping the river and its tributaries within their banks and said up to 12,000 soldiers were on standby to help.

In Austria, the levels of rivers and reservoirs fell overnight as rain eased but officials said they were bracing for a second wave as heavier rain was expected.

Strongest typhoon since 1949 hits Shanghai

The strongest typhoon to hit Shanghai since at least 1949 flooded roads with water and broken tree branches, knocked out power to some homes and injured at least one person as it swept over the financial hub Monday.

More than 414,000 people had been evacuated ahead of the powerful winds and torrential rain. Schools were closed and people were advised to stay indoors. Torrential rains flooded roads in the district, according to images broadcast by state media. Elsewhere in Shanghai, uprooted trees and fallen branches blanketed some roads and sidewalks. As the typhoon eased, responders cleared branches and other objects blown around by the storm.

Vietnam puts typhoon losses at $1.6b

Typhoon Yagi caused $1.6 billion in economic losses in Vietnam, state media said Monday, as the UN’s World Food Programme said the deadly floods it triggered in Myanmar were the worst in the country’s recent history. Yagi battered Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand with powerful winds and a huge dump of rain over a week ago, triggering floods and landslides that have killed more than 400 people, according to official figures.

The death toll in Vietnam stands at 292, with 38 missing, more than 230,000 homes damaged and 280,000 hectares of crops destroyed, according to authorities. Yagi has also killed 226 in Burma.

Trump assassination attempt suspect charged with gun crimes

A man suspected in an apparent attempt to assassinate Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, made his first court appearance on Monday and was charged with federal gun crimes.

The man, identified as Ryan R., has been charged with possession of a firearm despite being a convicted felon and possession of a fireman with an “obliterated” serial number, according to the US media. Additional and more serious charges are possible as the investigation continues and prosecutors seek a grand jury indictment.

In his brief appearance in court in West Palm Beach, Florida, the man answered perfunctory questions about his job status and income.

At about 1.30 pm local time (7.30 pm Malta time) on Sunday, a US Secret Service agent noticed the barrel of a rifle sticking out of the bushes on the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach.

The agent fired and the suspect dropped the rifle and fled in an SUV, leaving the firearm behind along with two backpacks, a scope used for aiming and a GoPro camera, authorities said. He was later stopped by law enforcement in a neighbouring county.

Police identified the would-be attacker as Ryan R. He is reportedly a self-employed affordable housing builder based in Hawaii, with an arrest record spanning decades.

The suspect was a staunch supporter of Ukraine and regularly posted about politics and current events on social media, including criticism of Trump, US media said.

US President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with Donald Trump in what the White House reported, a “cordial” conversation. Earlier, Biden reacted to the incident saying that the US Secret Service needs more personnel to carry out its duties after the apparent assassination attempt on Trump over the weekend.

The US Secret Service beefed up Trump’s security detail after the July 13 attack, in which the gunman was shot and killed by responding agents.

‘God wants me to be president of the United States’

So said Donald Trump, speaking live on X the day after the new attack against him. The tycoon then attacked the two attackers – the one in Pennsylvania two months ago and the latest in Florida – calling them “left-wing extremists”. a statement that has not yet received official confirmation.

Trump then returned to accusing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, saying what happened “is the fault of the rhetoric of my political opponents” – even if attacker Ryan R did not fire any shot.

Japanese-language show ‘Shogun’ breaks Emmy’s record

“Shogun”, a period drama set in feudal Japan, reigned at the 76th Emmy Awards on Sunday, bagging an epic 18 wins in a single season.

The FX show won best drama series and also won acting awards for Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai, who made history by becoming the first Japanese actors to win their categories.

Sanada called “Shogun” an “East meets West dream project” as he accepted his award. “‘Shogun’ taught me [that] when we work together, we can make miracles,” the actor said.

Shogun’s 18-award streak is a record at the Emmys – the highest honours in television – for a single season of a drama.

“Hacks” on HBO won in the category of best comedy series, in a shock for “The Bear,” which was highly expected to clinch the award after big victories earlier in the evening. The ceremony, however, did end on a high note for “The Bear”, as the FX series broke its own record for most Emmys for a comedy and took home a total of 11 honours.

Netflix’s dark comedy “Baby Reindeer” won best limited series. Scottish comedian Richard Gadd claimed three trophies for writing, producing and starring in the smash hit, which is said to be inspired by his real-life experiences of stalking and sexual assault.

Photo: Belga